1. Field of the Invention PA1 rows of seats mounted on beams and resting on at least two undercarriages placed one on each of the two rails; and PA1 a system for each rail for driving the undercarriages according to the system mentioned above, said connection element being capable of covering the rail. PA1 in a first phase of deployment, the covering strip is additionally made to slide simultaneously in the direction opposite to the storage area; PA1 and in a first phase of reverse drive, the continuous covering strip is additionally made to slide toward the storage area.
The present invention concerns a system and procedure for driving movable undercarriages along a rail, as well as its application to equipment and a procedure for storage and the positioning of seats in a multi-event auditorium.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The current state-of-the-art offers auditoriums equipped with movable seats, in order to provide floor-space which may be used, for example, as a dance floor, for banquets, or for exhibition stands. The transformation of the auditorium may be accomplished manually by means of a burdensome and crude procedure consisting in dismantling the seats one by one and storing them in an adjoining room, or vice versa.
A more flexible solution is described in Patent FR1.287.511, according to which at least one retractable floor can be laid over an immobile floor using devices equipped with wheels and jacks which allow them either to roll or to rest in stable fashion on the immovable floor. Storage is accomplished by means of recesses whose dimensions are large enough to store at least one retractable floor. An installation of this kind nevertheless requires rather large storage capacities and, even so, manual positioning and attachment of the various floors.
There is also a well-known solution prescribing the pivoting of the floor either flat or in an inclined position, respectively, by executing a half-turn around a central horizontal shaft as described in Patent No. FR-369.879, or shaft located at the edge of the auditorium, as described in European Patent Application N.degree. 0.002.865. These installations are not very satisfactory, since they require large pits for maneuvering the floors, and do not allow inclination of the floor as may be required by the specific event.
Furthermore, there are auditoriums equipped with seats mounted on rollers which may be moved in guide-grooves in the floor. The number and arrangement of the seats can be changed by moving each seat within the auditorium or outside it. This embodiment, described in German Patent N.degree. 1.1015.210 is marked in particular by the disadvantage of also requiring a large adjoining storage area, should the removal of all seats be desired.
Further, Patent N.degree. DE-1.254.852 describes equipment for the storage and positioning of rows of seats, incorporating at least two undercarriages attached with a connection element. This equipment has disadvantages when deployed, particularly as regards spectator safety.
Finally, Patent N.degree. FR-2.500.509 describes a floor incorporating at least two elements hinged together, on of these elements having retractable rails on which several rows of seats can be slid; however, this patent does not advocate automatic mechanisms for moving them.